defective airbag clockspring?

[ed k]

a friend of mine drives a 2005 scion xb with about 160k on it; we bought it for a steal about a year ago from a dealer as a trade-in

a few weeks after he got the car the airbag light came on; the car has been banged up a little but no major previous accidents….. i had my mechanic hook up his fancy scan tool and came up with a code for

B 1181 open D squib circuit

i did a bit of research and found that it’s not uncommon for the clockspring to go bad on these cars, also sometimes when you start the car with the steering wheel turned, lets say 180 degrees, the airbag light will turn on for its system check then turn off…. once you start driving with the steering wheel straight ahead the airbag light will turn on and stay on. if the car is started with the steering wheel in the straight ahead position then the light stays on

do you think its a defective clockspring?

i looked into pricing and they are not cheap….. an oem is at least $250. i looked and it is not produced aftermarket except for one i found on ebay and its $40….. i work in auto parts so i doubt that one is good quality but it does have a “1 year warranty” from the seller. i have seen some used clocksprings for a bit more

i’m a bit wary about using a cheap aftermarket or used clockspring, however i can’t see shelling out that kind of money for an oem part….. the car itself was $2k

what do you think?

Topic

[Richard Kirshy]

Have you considered checking prices on a salvage unit?

[ed k]

i’ve looked a little bit and i’ve seen a them go for roughly $50

i’m a bit wary using a salvage part since it seems to be somewhat common on this car (though not as bad as some cars such as the chrysler vans)

[Author]

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